


Semisonic

by soldiermom1973



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Archangel - Freeform, Beginnings, Captain Anderson - Freeform, Commander Shepard - Freeform, Councilor Anderson, Gen, Liara - Freeform, MEFF Prompt, Tali - Freeform, admiral anderson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-28 07:44:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7631215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soldiermom1973/pseuds/soldiermom1973
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annie Shepard is on her way to meet with the Illusive Man after an attack on the lab where she'd spent the past two years being rebuilt.  She reflects on how things might be different with her former crew after she died...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Semisonic

**Author's Note:**

> I suck at titles but hopefully this one makes sense after you've read it. If not, see the notes at the end.
> 
> Annie is my canon Shepard and I swear I am working on her story. I'm just not good at juggling multiple multi-chapter fics.
> 
> I wrote this for the MEFF July prompt Beginnings. And the song that's mentioned at the end got stuck in my head every time I tried to write. [Reblogs](http://soldiermom1973.tumblr.com/post/148219116493/a-kinda-short-thing-i-wrote-for-the-meff-july) are always appreciated, as are any kudos and comments.

_Two years..._

That's how long the man – Jacob – had told her she'd been gone. Not just _gone_ , either, but DEAD. For two years. He'd said it first in that lab when Miranda had woken her up because of the attack and again just a few minutes ago.

Annie stared out of the shuttle's window, trying to wrap her head around it. She could see from her peripheral vision that Miranda was staring at her. _Probably watching for a reaction,_ she thought to herself. _Waiting to see if I'm still_ really _me, to see how I handle all of this._ Jacob was at least being more discreet about it – he'd study his omnitool for a little, then give her a cautious glance. Annie didn't know what they expected, but she wasn't going to show them anything. They were Cerberus – the enemy, as far as she was concerned – and she wasn't about to show anything that might be interpreted as weakness by reacting in any way that wasn't neutral.

She blinked hard a few times, though, as she wondered about the people on her crew. Two years was a long time and she was sure no one had forgotten about her, but it was stupid and selfish to think that everyone put their lives on hold to mourn her passing.

_Captain Anderson_ \- Annie sighed as she thought about the man who'd had enough faith in her to have her back when she stole the Normandy to stop Saren. She wondered how he was doing in his role as the first human Councilor and hoped that his punching Udina didn't come back to haunt him. Did he know about these missing colonies? How many favors was he trying to call in to try and protect Alliance assets? Were the other members of the Council actually listening or were they still as stubborn and bull-headed as when she tried making them see that Saren had gone rogue? And if the latter was the case, how much hair had Anderson lost in dealing with the nonsense?

_Joker_ \- Definitely the best pilot in the Alliance, if not the galaxy. Annie couldn't hide a grin when she wondered what stunt he might have pulled to get on whatever ship he was piloting. There was no doubt in her mind that he was still flying – maybe not for the Alliance, but there was no way he'd be happy sitting in a chair that wasn't part of a working bridge. Did he still have his sense of humor, though? Or did that incident at Alchera change him? Was his new unit as accepting of him as hers had been? And had he ever been able to get his poker face straightened out or was he still losing credits left and right?

_Wrex_ \- the massive krogan, who had no desire to help his people at all or even return to Tuchanka when Shepard had first met him. By the time they blew up Virmire, though, Annie was getting the feeling that his ideas about his people were slowly changing. Was he there now, maybe trying to get his people to stop fighting and focus on breeding? Or was he still on the Citadel, taking contracts as the big, bad merc he was when she met him?

_Tali_ \- that sweet, naive quarian... She'd learned so much working with Adams in engineering. She had taught him a lot, too, sharing shortcuts and ideas she'd picked up from her time in the Fleet. Had she finished her pilgramage? Did she go back to the Fleet? Or did she stay on the Citadel (or someplace else) trying to learn what she could?

_Liara_ \- Annie couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of the asari who'd been such a good friend, remembering how she flustered so easily, unsure of whether or not someone was joking with her. She'd been a huge help for Dr. Chakwas because of her knowledge of the other species' biologies. The smile faded from Annie's face as she wondered what the asari was doing now. Still unearthing Prothean artifacts? Or had she maybe returned to Thessia to get some more education under her belt?

_Garrus_ \- The hot-headed turian had grown leaps and bounds during his time on the Normandy. He'd lost his shoot-first mentality and had started to realize there was more than one way to solve a problem (and that those solutions didn't have to include violence). Had he gone back to C-SEC? Maybe back to Palaven to reconnect with his family? Or had he finally gotten himself into that Spectre training program he'd told Annie about?

_Kaidan_ \- Annie's heart ached when she thought of the Canadian biotic. She knew he'd had the potential to be quite the xenophobe and she did her damnedest to make sure that hadn't happened. Had he taken her examples and learned from them? Did he remember, like he'd told her once, that each alien was an individual? There was no doubt in her mind that he was still in the Alliance and he'd surely have been promoted by now. Maybe a Commander? Did he have his own ship? And after two years, he surely must have moved on. The thought clamped around her chest like a vise. Did his new relationship start like theirs had? First was the awkward flirting, the shy smiles, the casual touches. Then the Normandy got locked down and they shared their first kiss. From there, the relationship went from slowly smoldering to raging like an inferno in a matter of weeks. Annie's eyes fluttered closed when she thought about how he would sneak glances at her while they were on missions, always making sure she was ok afterward; the way his hand would 'accidentally' brush against hers when he was reaching for something in the Mako... Maybe he was married now, with a family. Annie screwed her eyes shut, hoping that wherever he was, whomever he was with, he was at least happy.

Annie set her jaw and straightened her shoulders. She had to put those thoughts behind her. Her crew thought she was dead and it was best they continue to think that. Maybe after she finished with whatever it was Cerberus wanted from her, she could look them up. Right now, she didn't want them knowing she was keeping company with the same people they'd tried to take down two years ago. If nothing else, she knew that they would have all moved on with their lives. If she were to just drop in... well, she didn't want to cause any problems with anyone. Their old lives had ended the day the Normandy was destroyed and like the old earth song went, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

**Author's Note:**

> "That old earth song" is Closing Time by Semisonic. Like I said, I suck at titles.


End file.
